Posted on March 10th, 2020
OUT MetroWest will hold online youth meetings until in-person gatherings are deemed safe by public health officials. Online meeting times correspond to the scheduled times for our Drop-in, Nexus, Umbrella, and WAGLY meetings. Links to the online meeting locations are available on our website calendar. Please note that all meetings will be facilitated by trained […]
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Posted on February 10th, 2020
UPDATE: We are postponing this event due to the novel coronavirus. Existing ticket holders have been contacted and plans for rescheduling will be announced soon. Our annual Trivia Night and Silent Auction was to be held Saturday, April 4, 2020 at Framingham High School. This event is open to all community members and raises funds […]
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Posted on February 10th, 2020
OUT MetroWest is currently searching for an executive director. For more details about the position and the application process, please see our jobs page.
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Posted on January 28th, 2020
Event Details Time: Saturday, February 29, 2 to 3:30 p.m. Location: First Parish in Needham, 23 Dedham Avenue, Needham Cost: Free of charge Event Description What is it like to grow up trans or non-binary? What do trans adults wish that you knew about caring for gender expansive children? At this OUT MetroWest event, a […]
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Posted on January 17th, 2020
Greetings from OUT MetroWest. Please take a moment to read this special message from Sawyer Bethel. Dear Friends, It’s been my privilege to serve as OUT MetroWest Executive Director these last two years. I initially stepped into the interim leadership role in Spring 2017—as many of you may recall, this was during a major transition […]
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Posted on November 7th, 2019
OUT MetroWest is proud to present The Pineapple Project on Saturday, November 16 at Common Street Spiritual Center in Natick. The Pineapple Project is an interactive performance that allows children to explore their ideas of gender using the power of theater, imagination, and fun. This free event will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. Families with […]
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Posted on October 28th, 2019
We get a lot of inquiries about programming for LGBTQ+ young adults in the MetroWest area. Our programs serve youth through high school. We also allow participation during the year following high school graduation for those who aren’t enrolled in college full-time. A few times each year we also host alum nights for former program […]
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Posted on October 24th, 2019
OUT MetroWest’s mission is to build communities where LGBTQ+ youth thrive. We do this by offering educational, social, and supportive spaces for youth to connect with their peers and adult mentors. Thanks to a partnership with Wayside Youth & Family Support Network, we’re also able to provide on-site mental health clinicians at our drop-in, Umbrella, […]
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Posted on October 2nd, 2019
Each year, we serve hundreds of youth at our drop-in, Nexus, Umbrella, and WAGLY programs for LGBTQ+ youth. We also offer a peer leadership cohort, a series of events for gender expansive young children and their families, and community workshops on gender and sexual orientation. While we address some undeniably tough topics through our work, […]
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Posted on August 29th, 2019
Earlier this year, the family of a recent alum reached out to us to ask how they could help OUT MetroWest. Knowing how much their own child had benefited from our programs, they generously agreed to sponsor our series of WAGLY summer parties. Summer parties are a WAGLY tradition, historically taking place the fourth Monday […]
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Posted on August 7th, 2019
We’re hosting our first ever Camp OUT! This event will be offered free of charge to participants in grades six through 12 on Friday, August 16 and Saturday, August 17. It will be held at the Hillside School farm in Marlborough. For this inaugural event, we’ve reserved the Hillside pool for a private party that […]
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Posted on August 7th, 2019
“It was 94 degrees, and we were all wearing long pants and boots. Amazingly, we all survived.” This is what one participant recalls when asked about OUT MetroWest’s July 29 service day with The Venture Out Project and the Appalachian Mountain Club. That this memory stands out is not surprising, given the weather our group […]
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Posted on July 10th, 2019
Our sixth annual Come Out & Celebrate event is just around the corner! The annual gala highlights the contributions of community leaders and raises funds for our LGBTQ+ youth programs. Past event honorees include Barney Frank, Ed Markey, Janson Wu, Asa Sevelius, and Grace Moreno. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, September 28, […]
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Posted on June 24th, 2019
It’s an OUT MetroWest tradition to host special gatherings on the fourth Monday evenings of June, July, and August. In addition to high school participants, these events are open to parents/caregivers and WAGLY and Umbrella alums. From 6:30 to 7, we provide dinner, and then parents and caregivers can attend an optional PFLAG meeting on-site […]
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Posted on June 19th, 2019
Too often, LGBTQ+ young people don’t have LGBTQ+ role models. In fact, when we surveyed OUT MetroWest participants in April 2019, 15% didn’t know a single LGBTQ+ adult outside of our programs. An additional 41% only knew one or two LGBTQ+ adults. Think about it this way: by the time our youngest participants join us, […]
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Posted on June 6th, 2019
Our middle school participants never cease to amaze us. Their self-knowledge, enthusiasm, and kindness are contagious. When we ask them about their experiences in our Nexus program, 100% of participants report making at least one friend by attending meetings—and many develop an entire social circle! Although they are young, many of our participants are already […]
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Posted on May 21st, 2019
Mark your calendar: our sixth annual Come Out and Celebrate event will be Saturday, September 28, 2019. We’ll be gathering at The Verve Crowne Plaza in Natick to celebrate leaders from the LBGTQ+ movement while raising funds for our youth programs. Past event honorees include Rep. Barney Frank, Sen. Ed Markey, GLAD executive director Janson […]
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Posted on May 5th, 2019
On Monday, July 29, we’re working with The Venture Out Project to improve a section of Bay Circuit Trail here in MetroWest. This community service event is open to queer, trans, and LGBTQ+ young people ages 12-22. No experience is necessary. The Bay Circuit Trail (BCT) is a permanent recreation trail and greenway extending through 37 towns […]
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Posted on April 10th, 2019
Do you miss the days of hole-in-the-wall lesbian bars and gay clubs? Do you love going out to dance but not love driving into the city in search of a safe space for trans people? We’ve got you covered with our upcoming OUT in the ‘Burbs event. On Friday, May 3, OUT MetroWest is taking […]
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Posted on April 1st, 2019
On April 1, WAGLY welcomed three LGBTQ+ elected officials for an interactive panel discussion. Peer leaders introduced the panel, which included Melrose school committee member Lizbeth DeSelm; State Representative Natalie Higgins; and OUT MetroWest’s former executive director, State Representative Jack Lewis. Holyoke city councilor Jossie Valentin was scheduled to appear but had to miss the […]
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